This weekend, the crappy X-Men movie passed Captain America to become the highest grossing movie of the year so far, and Transformers had the biggest opening of the year so far and will without a doubt smash its way onto the top 10 of the year over the next week. To those complaining about soundtrack cue titles as a sign of the decline of civilization: I think we've got bigger markers of that event.

There's just waaaaay too many sequels, prequels, robots, and super-hero garbage out there, but since 98% of this board--and moviegoers in general--absorb the stuff like they would life-giving nutrients, I don't see it changing anytime soon.

There's just waaaaay too many sequels, prequels, robots, and super-hero garbage out there, but since 98% of this board--and moviegoers in general--absorb the stuff like they would life-giving nutrients, I don't see it changing anytime soon.

When is the next Woody Allen Film? Also, I'm glad Twilight Time has his 'Radio Days' coming out in Blu ray soon, I can see that one over and over.

I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. We need a little bit of both -- the high-grossing blockbusters (both the good and the bad), as well as the more thought-provoking indie fare. The film scene would be terribly boring if there only was one or the other.

I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. We need a little bit of both -- the high-grossing blockbusters (both the good and the bad), as well as the more thought-provoking indie fare. The film scene would be terribly boring if there only was one or the other.

You don't agree with what assessment? I have nothing against summer spectacle: I quite enjoy it when it's done well. What I found sad was that the lousy X-Men surpassed the solid Cap (soon to be followed by the also-lousy Spider-Man sequel), and that it seems very possible that the loud, ugly, stupid Transformers film will end up being box office champ this year while reasonably entertaining fluff like Edge of Tomorrow will not even place in the top 10.

I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. We need a little bit of both -- the high-grossing blockbusters (both the good and the bad), as well as the more thought-provoking indie fare. The film scene would be terribly boring if there only was one or the other.

Well that's the problem, isn't it? Presently there is a TON of prequels/sequels/robots/super-hero stuff and a paucity of quality "grown-up" fare. Don't get me wrong, I love comic books and the original Star Wars and Indy trilogies but I couldn't possibly subsist on a steady diet of those things.

I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. We need a little bit of both -- the high-grossing blockbusters (both the good and the bad), as well as the more thought-provoking indie fare. The film scene would be terribly boring if there only was one or the other.

Well that's the problem, isn't it? Presently there is a TON of prequels/sequels/robots/super-hero stuff and a paucity of quality "grown-up" fare. Don't get me wrong, I love comic books and the original Star Wars and Indy trilogies but I couldn't possibly subsist on a steady diet of those things.

I don't think there's a 'paucity' of quality grown-up fare. It just depends where you go looking for it. Perhaps the big multiplex is not the way to go.

But I have to say that I think there should be room for even the "bad" summer blockbusters. Sometimes, you just want to turn your brain off and have a good ride, even if the plot is silly or whatever.

That's what summer spectacle is for: easy entertainment. The "bad" summer blockbusters are the ones that are too idiotic or too ugly to pass as entertainment. YMMV, obviously. There are clearly many millions of people lapping up the increasingly loud, ugly, stupid Transformers movies, so they know their demographic and are reaching them successfully.

Although we would always prefer things to be as good as possible, I think there's a definite need for "bad" blockbuster fodder too. Even if it's idiotic, it provides a certain form of entertainment, whether through visuals, individual setpieces or whatever. It's a release valve in many ways.

The second concern you seem to be talking about, however, is the lack of critical sense in the public at large. This is the old "Frankfurter school" of cultural criticism, whereby audiences swallow up the lowest common denominator, thus setting the bar at a disproportionately low place. That can be a problem, but it's somewhat of a different issue.

Ideally, we should all be critical individuals who know what we're being served, and judge it accordingly, but that doesn't mean everything should be high-brow art films, or even clever blockbuster films. We need the bad, and it's sometimes healthy to find a certain form of satisfaction in the bad. That's my view, anyway.

Thor, I don't think the world will ever, ever have to worry about there being too many thought-provoking and intelligent movies.

I don't even disagree with you about the "need" for bad movies; it's just that there's not only so much of it but that is the industry's emphasis.

The foreign markets are an ever-present concern so witty and clever dialogue is out the window in favor of more and more special effects and explosions.

Yes, searching out intelligent and stimulating--and grown up--films does take some work, which tells me everything about the state of movies. No one ever had to search high and low to find where Transformers is playing.